Flip-top box for cigarettes

ABSTRACT

Hinge-lid boxes usually comprise a box part ( 10 ) and a lid ( 11 ) connected in an articulated manner thereto. In the region of a box front wall ( 15 ) and lid front wall ( 19 ), the box part ( 10 ) and lid ( 11 ) form transversely directed closure edges, namely a lid closure edge ( 33 ) and mating closure edge ( 34 ). These closure edges are of V-shaped design with different angles between the associated edge legs ( 37, 38  and  39, 40,  respectively), with the result that a V-shaped or arrowhead-like opening ( 43 ) is formed.

The invention relates to a hinge-lid box for cigarettes or similarproducts, having a box part and a lid articulated on a box rear wall,and having a collar which is anchored in the box part and has a collarfront wall and collar side walls and has its region which projects outof the box part enclosed by the lid in the closed position, a lid frontwall being bounded by a (bottom) lid closure edge and a box front wallof the box part being bounded by a (top) mating closure edge.

Conventional hinge-lid boxes are designed such that the transverselydirected lid closure edge, in the closed position, butts against thelikewise transversely directed mating closure edge of the box part. Alsoalready known, however, is a hinge-lid box with an obliquely running lidclosure edge and correspondingly obliquely running mating closure edge,the lid closure edge being spaced apart from the mating closure edge,which is arranged parallel thereto, with the result that a strip-likeregion of the collar front wall can also be seen in the closed positionof the lid.

The object of the invention is to develop (cigarette) packs of thehinge-lid-box type further, in particular in terms of the configurationof the front side, and also to improve the handling of the same.

In order to achieve this object, the hinge-lid box according to theinvention is characterized in that, with the lid closed, the lid closureedge and mating closure edge are spaced apart from one another bydistances which change over the pack width, and in the region oflateral, upright pack edges converge until they come into contact withone another.

The lid closure edge, on the one hand, and the mating closure edge, onthe other hand, are preferably of V-shaped design with different anglesof inclination of closure-edge-forming edge legs. It is thus the casethat the lid closure edge, on the one hand, and the mating closure edge,on the other hand, bound a front recess or opening which is backed bythe collar front wall. The latter can thus be seen in the region of saidopening

On account of the configuration and arrangement of the closure edgesaccording to the invention, with the lid closed, the opening is ofV-shaped configuration with rectilinear edge legs and with a width orheight which decreases in the direction of the ends. In the region oflateral, upright pack edges, the top and bottom closures edges convergeuntil they come into contact with one another. The V-shaped openingbetween the (closed) lid and box part has legs or vanes which taper to apoint in the direction of the ends. The width of the V-shaped openingmay also be considerably smaller than the width of the front side of thepack. The opening is preferably positioned centrally on the front sideof the pack, but may also be arranged in a laterally offset manner.

The abovedescribed configuration of the lid closure edge and of themating closure edge can be used particularly advantageously in hinge-lidboxes with bevelled pack edges at least in the region of the pack frontside, preferably in the case of octagonal packs with four bevelled packedges or, in the case of packs with rounded pack edges, at least in thefront region.

Further details and features of the invention concern the configurationof the hinge-lid box, of the collar and of the blanks for the hinge-lidbox.

Exemplary embodiments of the pack according to the invention and ofparts of the same are explained in more detail hereinbelow withreference to the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a front view of a hinge-lid box for cigarettes with the lidclosed,

FIG. 2 shows a perspective illustration of the hinge-lid box accordingto FIG. 1 with the lid open,

FIG. 3 shows a spread-out blank for a hinge-lid box according to FIGS. 1and 2,

FIG. 4 shows a spread-out blank for a collar of the hinge-lid boxaccording to FIGS. 1 and 2,

FIG. 5 shows an illustration analogous to FIG. 1 for another embodimentof a hinge-lid box,

FIG. 6 shows an illustration analogous to FIG. 2 for the hinge-lid boxaccording to FIG. 5,

FIG. 7 shows a spread-out blank for a hinge-lid box according to FIGS. 5and 6,

FIG. 8 shows a spread-out blank for a collar of the hinge-lid boxaccording to FIGS. 5 and 6,

FIG. 9 shows an illustration analogous to FIG. 1 for a further exemplaryembodiment of a hinge-lid box,

FIG. 10 shows a perspective illustration of the hinge-lid box accordingto FIG. 9 with the lid open,

FIG. 11 shows a spread-out blank for a hinge-lid box according to FIGS.9 and 10,

FIG. 12 shows a spread-out blank for a collar of a hinge-lid boxaccording to FIGS. 9 and 10,

FIG. 13 shows a fourth exemplary embodiment of a hinge-lid box in anillustration analogous to FIG. 1,

FIG. 14 shows a perspective illustration of the hinge-lid box accordingto FIG. 13 with the lid open,

FIG. 15 shows a spread-out blank for a hinge-lid box according to FIGS.13 and 14, and

FIG. 16 shows a spread-out blank for a collar of the hinge-lid boxaccording to FIGS. 13 and 14.

Hinge-lid boxes comprise a (bottom) box part 10 and a (top) lid 11connected thereto. The box part 10 and the lid 11 are connected to oneanother via a transversely directed articulation 14 in the region of abox rear wall 12, on the one hand, and of a lid rear wall 13, on theother hand. The box part 10 also comprises a box front wall 15 and boxside walls 16, 17. The bottom termination of-the box part 10 is formedby a base wall 18.

Analogously to this, the lid 11 comprises a lid front wall 19, lid sidewalls 20, 21 and an end wall 22.

The box side walls 16, 17 and, accordingly, the lid side walls 20, 21respectively comprise side tabs 23, 24 and lid side tabs 25, 26, whichoverlap one another wholly or partially. Mutually assigned side tabs areconnected to one another by adhesive bonding. Furthermore, a lid innertab of specific configuration is connected to a free border of the lidfront wall 19 and is folded over against the inside of the same andfastened thereon.

A hinge-lid box of classic construction also has a collar 27. The lattercomprises a separate blank. The collar 27 comprises a collar front wall28 and collar side walls 29, 30. An upwardly open cutout 31 of specificconfiguration is located in the region of the collar front wall 28. Thecutout 31 is bounded by a collar edge 32.

A special feature of the present hinge-lid boxes is the configuration ofclosure edges of the box part 10, on the one hand, and of the lid 11, onthe other hand. The lid front wall 19 forms a lid closure edge 33 by wayof the bottom border. When a lid inner tab is present, said lid closureedge is formed by a folding edge of the lid inner tab and of the lidfront wall 19.

In the case of conventional hinge-lid boxes, with the lid 11 closed, thelid closure edge 33 butts against a mating closure edge 34, which isformed by a top border of the lid front wall 15. The present hinge-lidboxes are designed such that the closure edges 33, 34 are spaced apartfrom one another, to be precise over the entire width of the pack frontside or over a sub-region of the same. The distance between the closureedges 33, 34 decreases uniformly in the direction of the sides of thehinge-lid box, namely in the direction of the lateral, upright packedges 35, 36.

The closure edges 33, 34 are of V-shaped design, namely with two edgelegs 37, 38 and 39, 40, respectively, arranged at an angle to oneanother. The edge legs 37, 38 together form the lid closure edge 33, andthe edge legs 39, 40 each form sections of the mating closure edge 34.In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 1, the edge legs 37, 38 are orientedat an obtuse angle to one another, a shallow, elongate V-contour beingformed in the process. The edge legs 37, 38 converge at a downwardlydirected point 41, which is rounded.

The edge legs 39, 40 of the (bottom) mating closure edge 34 are orientedat a smaller angle to one another than the edge legs 37, 38,approximately at right angles according to FIG. 1. The edge legs 39, 40also converge at a point 42 which is rounded to a pronounced extent.

The points 41, 42 are arranged one beneath the other, to be precise onan (imaginary) vertical line parallel to the pack edges 35, 36.Furthermore, the points 41, 42 are positioned centrally on the frontside of the hinge-lid box.

In the region of the front side of the pack, the V-shaped closure edges33, 34, with the lid 11 closed, bound an opening 43 which in accordancewith the profile of the closure edges 33, 34, is of V-shaped design, tobe precise with a transverse dimension decreasing in the direction ofthe sides, that is to say in the direction of the pack edges 35, 36. Theopening 43 has an arrowhead-like configuration with preferably twoequally sized vanes tapering to a point in the direction of the sides.In the region of this opening 43, it is possible to see part of the packlocated therebeneath, in the present case the collar front wall 28.

The converging edge legs 37 and 39, on the one hand, and 38 and 40, onthe other hand, converge in a lateral region of the pack front side. Theexemplary embodiment according to FIGS. 1 to 4 is a hinge-lid box withcross-sectionally right-angled pack edges 35, 36. The edge legs 37 . . .40 extend as far as said pack edges 35, 36 and converge at the border ofthe pack front side, namely in the region of the front pack edges 35,36. The edge legs 37 . . . 40 merge into obliquely directed side closureedges 44, 45 in the region of side walls 16, 17 and 20, 21 of the boxpart 10 and lid 11, respectively.

The collar 27 is also of specific design. The cutout 31 is adapted, interms of the contour, to the configuration of the closure edges 44, 45,namely is of V-shaped configuration in principle. The collar edge 32forms upright or obliquely running end sections 46 and edge sections 47which adjoin said end sections and converge in a V-shaped manner. Saidedge sections converge at a downwardly directed, rounded point 48, whichis aligned with the points 41, 42 of the closure edges 33, 34, namely ispositioned precisely above the same. The transitions between theedge-sections 47, on the one hand, and the end sections 46, on the otherhand, are rounded. The point 48 is likewise rounded. In the exemplaryembodiment according to FIG. 4, provision is also made for the edgesections 47 to run in a slightly curved, arcuate manner, that is to saynot to be of strictly rectilinear design.

At the bottom end, the collar 27 has a protrusion 49, of which thegeometrical configuration corresponds precisely to the cutout 31, withthe result that the blanks of the collar 27 can be severed from acorresponding web in a waste-free manner.

The lid inner tab is also of specific design. This is because itcomprises two sub-tabs 50, 51 which together form the lid inner tab.Arranged on each edge leg 37, 38 of the lid closure edge 33 is a sub-tab50, 51, and these are thus directed obliquely or can be folded about anobliquely running folding line 52. The sub-tabs 50, 51 have a more orless trapezoidal or roof-shaped contour with a transverse edge 53 whichextends transversely to the longitudinal alignment of the blank (FIG.3). This is adjoined laterally by a longitudinal edge 54 which runsprecisely in the longitudinal direction of the blank. The two sub-tabs50, 51 are separated from one another in the centre by a V-shapeddepression 55. The abovedescribed geometrical contour of the sub-tabs50, 51 means that, once they have been folded over against the inside ofthe lid front wall 19, they butt closely against one another and areseparated from one another merely by a narrow, central gap which isbounded by the transverse edges 53. The lid closure edge 33 is thus ofdouble-layered design, with a folding edge, over the entire length,namely in the region of the two edge legs 37, 38.

In that region of blank according to FIG. 3 which is located oppositethe sub-tabs 50, 51 an overall V-shaped contour is formed forend-boundary purposes, said contour also extending in the region of the(outer) side tabs 24. The closure edge 45, which bounds said side tabs24, is oriented at an obtuse angle to the adjoining edge legs 39, 40.

The packs, namely hinge-lid boxes, according to FIGS. 5 to 8, combinethe V-shaped configuration of the closure edges 33, 34 with a specificpack contour, namely with an octagonal pack of a configuration which isknown in principle (U.S. Pat. No. 4,753,384). In the case of this packtype, the front and rear pack edges 35, 36 are bevelled, two parallelfolding edges, namely an outer edge 56 and an inner edge 57, beingformed in the process.

In this exemplary embodiment, the lid closure edge 33 and the matingclosure edge 34 extend beyond the inner edge 57 as far as the outer edge56, that is to say right up to the box side walls 16, 17 and lid sidewalls 20, 21, respectively. In the region of the inner edges 57, the lidclosure edge 33 and mating closure edge 34 are spaced apart from oneanother (slightly). The closure edges 33, 34 converge as far as theouter edge 56. In the region of the bevelled pack edges 35, 36, theprofile of the closure edges 33, 34, namely the profile of the matingclosure edge 34, differs from that in the region of the box front wall15 by way of an edge section 58 as part of the mating closure edge 34 inthe region between the outer edge 56 and inner edge 57 (FIG. 7). Theedge section 58 is oriented at a more acute angle to said edges 56, 57.

FIGS. 9 to 12 show details of a hinge-lid box designed as a round-edgepack, namely with pack edges 35, 36 rounded in accordance with thedimensions of a cigarette. The blank (FIG. 11), for forming the roundpack edges 35, 36, is provided with folding strips 59 which comprise anumber of grooves which are located one beside the other and run in thelongitudinal direction of the blank. Said round-edge pack otherwisecorresponds to the design according to U.S. Pat. No. 4,753,363.

The V-shaped closure edges 33 and 34 are spaced apart from one anothermerely in the region of the box front wall 15 and lid front wall 19. TheV-shaped opening 43 extends here exclusively in the region outside the(round) pack edges 35, 36, that is to say between the folding strips 59.A rectilinear side closure edge 45 is formed in the region of thefolding strip 59 and of the adjacent side tabs 24. Said side closureedge extends at an obtuse angle to the edge legs 39, 40 of the box frontwall 15.

FIGS. 13 to 16 show details of a hinge-lid box with a V-shaped opening43 which is arranged in an offset manner in the region of the pack frontside, that is to say outside an imaginary vertical centre line. Thespecial feature is shown on a hinge-lid box with bevelled pack edges 35,36, that is to say corresponding to the exemplary embodiment accordingto FIGS. 5 to 8. The edge legs 37 and 39 of the closure edges extendhere as far as the inner edge 57. On the opposite side, the edge legs 38and 40 merge at a position which is spaced apart from the inner edge 57.The closure edges 33 and 34 form abutting edge segments 60, 61 which runtransversely, that is to say parallel to the end wall 22 and base wall18. In the region of the (bevelled) front pack edge 36, the closureedges 33, 34 are angled again, in accordance with the oblique profile ofthe side closure edges 44 and 45.

On account of the smaller dimension of the resulting opening 43 in thetransverse direction, the angles between the edge legs 37 . . . 40 aresmaller, that is to say are oriented at an acute angle to one anotherbetween the (bottom) edge legs 39, 40 [sic].

The collar 27 (FIG. 16) is adapted to the above-described configurationof the pack, that is to say it is likewise provided with a laterallyoffset cutout 31, of which the point 48 is aligned with the points 41,42 of the closure edges. The cutout 31 has a reduced width, with theresult that a comparatively wide cross-piece 62 for bounding the cutout31 is formed on one side.

The blank according to FIG. 15 is also of specific configuration. Theedge segment 61, in the region of the box front wall 15, runstransversely as far as the inner edge 57. This is followed by an edgesection 58 in the oblique direction. This is adjoined by the sideclosure edges 44, 45.

The sub-tab 50, as part of the lid inner tab, is likewise adapted,namely by the necessary edge segment 60, which produces a contour whichdiffers slightly from the sub-tab 51. The lid front wall 19 is ofsingle-layered design in the region of the edge segment 60.

It is also possible for the closure edges 33, 34 to be of slightlydifferent configuration while maintaining the contour, namely to becurved slightly in the downward or upward direction to produce awing-like contour of the opening 43.

LIST OF DESIGNATIONS

10 Box part

11 Lid

12 Box rear wall

13 Lid rear wall

14 Articulation

15 Box front wall

16 Box side wall

17 Box side wall

18 Base wall

18 Lid front wall

19 Lid side wall

20 Lid side wall

21 End wall

22 Side tab

23 Side tab

24 Lid side tab

25 Lid side tab

26 Collar

27 Collar front wall

28 Collar side tab

29 Collar side tab

30 Cutout

32 Collar edge

33 Lid closure edge

34 Mating closure edge

35 Pack edge

36 Pack edge

37 Edge leg

38 Edge leg

39 Edge leg

40 Edge leg

41 Point

42 Point

43 Opening

44 Side closure edge

45 Side closure edge

46 End section

47 Edge section

48 Point

49 Protrusion

50 Sub-tab

51 Sub-tab

52 Folding line

53 Transverse edge

54 Longitudinal edge

55 Depression

56 Outer edge

57 Inner edge

58 Edge section

59 Folding strip

60 Edge segment

61 Edge segment

62 Crosspiece

What is claimed is:
 1. Hinge-lid box for cigarettes or the like, havinga box part (10) and a lid (11) articulated on a box rear wall (12), andhaving a collar (27) made of a collar front wall (28) and collar sidewalls (29, 30), a lid front wall (19) being bounded via a bottom lidclosure edge (33), and a box front wall (15) being bounded by a topmating closure edge (34) which, with the lid (11) closed, is spacedapart from the lid closure edge (33), characterized in that the lidclosure edge (33) and/or the mating closure edge (34) have/has twodownwardly directed edge legs (37, 38) which are arranged at an angle toone another and converge at a point (41, 42).
 2. Hinge-lid box accordingto claim 1, characterized in that the point (41, 42) is located in thecentre of the front side and is rounded.
 3. Hinge-lid box according toclaim 1, characterized in that the bottom lid closure edge (33) and thetop mating closure edge (34) are each formed from two downwardlydirected, rectilinear edge legs (37, 38 and 39, 40, respectively)arranged at an angle to one another, the edge legs (37, 38) of the lidclosure edge (33) being oriented at a larger angle to one another thanthe edge legs (39, 40) of the mating closure edge (34) such that, withthe lid (11) closed, the edge legs (37 . . . 40) bound a V-shaped orarrowhead-shaped opening (43).
 4. Hinge-lid box according to claim 1,characterized in that the V-shaped opening (43), bounded by edge legs(37 . . . 40), extends over the fall width of the box front wall (15)and lid front wall (19), in particular as far as lateral(cross-sectionally right-angled) pack edges (35, 36).
 5. Hinge-lid boxaccording to claim 1, characterized in that, in the case of octagonalpacks, that is to say with bevelled pack edges (35, 36), or round-edgepacks, that is to say with round pack edges (35, 36), the opening (43)is directed as far as the inner contour of the pack edges (35, 36), inparticular as far as inner edges (57) of the bevelled pack edges (35,36) or as far as the inner boundary of a folding strip (59) for roundedges.
 6. Hinge-lid box according to claim 1, characterized in that theV-shaped opening (43) extends into the region of bevelled or round packedges (35, 36), in particular as far as the lateral boundary of thesame, that is to say as far as the outer edge (56) of a bevelled, or asfar as the outer contour of the folding strip of a rounded, pack edge(35, 36).
 7. Hinge-lid box according to claim 1, characterized in thatthe transverse dimension of the opening (43) is smaller than that of thebox front wall (15) or lid front wall (19), and in that the lid closureedge (33) and the mating closure edge (34), adjoining the opening (43),run, in particular, horizontally, the closure edges (33, 34) buttingagainst one another when the lid (11) is closed.
 8. Hinge-lid boxaccording to claim 1, characterized in that the opening (43) ispositioned eccentrically in the region of the front side, in particularsuch that the opening (43) terminates, on one side, in the region of theupright pack edges (35) or of the inner edge (57) or of the foldingstrip (59) and, on the opposite side, at a distance from the associatedpack edge (36).
 9. Hinge-lid box according to claim 1, characterized inthat the collar (27) is adapted, in terms of a cutout (31) in the regionof the collar front wall (28), to the contour of the lid closure edge(33) and mating closure edge (34), in particular with edge sections(47), which run in a V-shaped manner in relation to one another,parallel to the lid closure edge (33) or to the mating closure edge(34), the edge sections (47) converging at a rounded point (48) which ispositioned on the same imaginary line as points (41, 42) of the closureedges (33, 34).
 10. Hinge-lid box according to claim 1, characterized inthat a lid inner tab arranged on the inside of the lid front wall 25(19) comprises two sub-tabs (50, 51) which are each connected to theedge leg (37, 38) of the lid front wall (19) via an obliquely directedfolding line (52).